Laban

Rivkah had a brother named Lavan. When he saw the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists besides, and when he heard his sister Rivkah's report of what the man had said to her, he ran out to the spring and found the man standing there by the camels.

Lavan and B'tu'el replied, "Since this comes from ADONAI, we can't say anything to you either bad or good.

Yitz'chak was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of B'tu'el the Arami from Paddan-Aram and sister of Lavan the Arami, to be his wife.

Therefore, my son, listen to me: get up and escape to Lavan my brother in Haran.

Go now to the home of B'tu'el your mother's father, and choose a wife there from the daughters of Lavan your mother's brother.

So Yitz'chak sent Ya'akov away; and he went to Paddan-Aram, to Lavan, son of B'tu'el the Arami, the brother of Rivkah Ya'akov's and 'Esav's mother.

He asked them, "Do you know Lavan the [grand]son of Nachor?" They said, "We do."

When Ya'akov saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother's brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother's brother, Ya'akov went up and rolled the stone away from the opening of the well and watered the flock of Lavan his mother's brother.

When Lavan heard the news of Ya'akov his sister's son, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Ya'akov told Lavan all that had happened.

Lavan said to him, "You are indeed my own flesh and blood." After Ya'akov had stayed with him for a whole month,

Lavan said to him, "Why should you work for me for nothing, just because you are my relative? Tell me how much I should pay you."

Now Lavan had two daughters; the name of the older was Le'ah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

Lavan answered, "Better that I give her to you than to someone else; stay with me."

Ya'akov said to Lavan, "Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her."

Lavan gathered all the men of the place and gave a banquet.

Lavan also gave his slave-girl Zilpah to his daughter Le'ah as her slave-girl.

In the morning Ya'akov saw that he was with Le'ah, and he said to Lavan, "What kind of thing is this that you've done to me? Didn't I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?"

Lavan answered, "In our place that isn't how it's done, to give the younger daughter before the firstborn.

Lavan also gave to his daughter Rachel his slave-girl Bilhah as her slave-girl.

After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya'akov said to Lavan, "Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country.

Lavan answered him, "If you regard me favorably, then please listen: I have observed the signs that ADONAI has blessed me on account of you.

Lavan replied, "As you have said, so be it."

and put three days' distance between himself and Ya'akov. Ya'akov fed the rest of Lavan's flocks.

Ya'akov divided the lambs and had the animals mate with the streaked and the brown in the flock of Lavan. He also kept his own livestock separate and did not have them mix with Lavan's flock.

but he didn't set up the rods in front of the weaker animals. Thus the more feeble were Lavan's and the stronger Ya'akov's.